Award-winning filmmaker and Out100 honoree Jorge Xolalpa will celebrate the UK premiere of his latest feature film LOLITA at the East London LGBTQ+ Film Festival from his home in Los Angeles, a milestone moment the filmmaker himself cannot attend due to his undocumented status and ongoing U.S. immigration policies that bar DACA recipients from traveling abroad.
LOLITA follows a gay man wrongfully incarcerated for nine years who, after his release, fights to rebuild his life and regain custody of his daughter. The film stars Alexis Vazquez and Academy Award nominee Eric Roberts, and has earned widespread acclaim at festivals across Palm Springs, New York, Madrid, and the Dominican Republic.
Xolalpa said:
LOLITA was inspired by what it feels like to live under DACA.
To exist in a country that does not legally recognize your existence, to feel seen yet invisible. I didn’t make a film about immigration; I made a film about what it feels like to be judged and limited simply for being who you are. The irony is that my film can cross borders, but I cannot.
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is a U.S. immigration policy that allows undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children to live and work legally but offers no path to citizenship. It also prohibits international travel without special government permission a process often denied or delayed indefinitely. As a result, Xolalpa is unable to attend the London premiere of a film that speaks directly to the emotional isolation of such policies.
Named one of Out Magazine’s 2025 Out100 Most Influential Artists, Xolalpa’s body of work from the Golden Globe-shortlisted Your Iron Lady to his Amazon series Strangelove to the internationally celebrated LOLITA, consistently amplifies underrepresented voices while exploring identity, justice, and the pursuit of belonging.
London Premiere:
📅 November 8, 2025
🕐 1:00 PM
📍 East London LGBTQ+ Film Festival
